Pilots and cabin crew file lawsuit against Japan Airlines

Dozens of pilots and flight attendants laid off by Japan Airlines Corp. on Wednesday filed a lawsuit challenging their dismissal on the first anniversary of the flagship carrier’s bankruptcy.

The 146 plaintiffs said their dismissal was unnecessary as the airline known as JAL made operating profit totaling over 140 billion yen ($1.7 billion) from April to November in 2010, according to a document submitted to the Tokyo District Court.

The lawsuit comes exactly a year after JAL filed for one of the biggest corporate bankruptcies in Japanese history. The carrier was saddled with more than $25 billion in debt, unprofitable routes and a bloated work force.

The airline’s bailout includes a 521.5 billion yen ($6.3 billion) debt waiver mainly from financial institutions and a 350 billion yen ($4.3 billion) investment in JAL by a government-backed body that is in charge of the bailout. [Full story]